Editorial: Laker Hate

As the 2013-2014 season nears I think it’s finally time to break my silence. I bit my tongue all off-season while numerous Laker Haters disrespected...and now I’m calling them out for it.

The so called experts at ESPN fired the first shots when they had them finishing 12th in the Western Conference. 12th!

This infuriated me not just because they’re wrong, but because it takes me away from my normal pessimistic stance on the Lakers. Now i’m forced to do something that I rarely have to do… defend the Lakers. Listen, I’m not unrealistic, I realize they won’t win a championship, but they will make the playoffs.

That’s right I said it! Playoffs!

I might be the only one out here on this limb, but I’m used to being alone on these things. So here’s my reasoning behind them making the playoffs: the West hasn’t gotten that much better, the Lakers can’t possibly have a year like last year, and almost everybody on the roster is playing for a contract. I know what you’re thinking. How can he say the West isn’t that much better when the Clippers, Warriors and the Rockets got better? I'll explain.

Only eight teams can make the playoffs in either conference right? If you look at the teams in the Western Conference, the teams that made the biggest improvements were already playoff teams. I understand that the Trailblazers(33-49) and Timberwolves(31-51) should be better, but do you really think they’ve improved enough to make the playoffs? The seventh and eighth seeds both won 45 games last year, which means these teams would have to be twelve and fourteen games better. I haven’t even talked about the fact that certain playoff teams got worse (I won’t say any names because then the Grizzles and Nuggets will get mad). The bottom line is the Lakers had the season from hell and they still won 45 games and were the 7th seed in the West. If they played in the East they would’ve been the 5th seed, and everyone would agree it was a bad year. Speaking of bad years, there is no way the Lakers can have a worse year than they did last year.Let me run down all the nonsense that went down last year and then I’ll ask a question. First they go winless in the preseason, lose four of their first five regular season games and Mike Brown gets fired. Then they call Phil Jackson, only to hire Mike D’Antoni while Phil was taking a few days to think about it. Mike D’Antoni comes in and alienates some players including benching Pau Gasol.

Gasol has to have a big year.

How about the injuries? Steve Nash(32 games), Pau Gasol(33 games), Jordan Hill(53 games), Steve Blake (37 games), Metta (6 games), Dwight Howard (6 games), and most importantly Kobe Bryant (6 games with more to come). The death of Dr. Jerry Buss, even though we all knew it was coming, sent shockwaves throughout the entire organization. I won’t even mention all the drama that was Dwight Howard. Now I’ll ask my question: do you really think they’ll have to deal with so much craziness this season? Yeah probably not. They’ll have another year in D’Antoni’s system and the organization went out and got him some players that are a better fit. With the exception of four players, everyone is on a one year deal, and that’s not a bad thing.

Most fans get excited when a player on their favorite team is in a contract year because they know he’s gonna ball out or die trying. Now just imagine the effort that we’ll see this season when virtually the whole team is in a contract year. The front office did a great job getting low risk / high reward talent to put on the roster. Players like Nick Young, Jordan Farmar, and Wesley Johnson have the potential to be really good in this system. Johnson was the number four pick in the 2010 draft, and he needs to have a good year to avoid being labeled a bust.

The player I expect to have the biggest impact is Pau Gasol. I’ve never seen a better player more disrespected in my life, but I believe he will silence critics now that he doesn’t have to be a stretch four. For the first time in a few years Gasol didn’t play any International basketball, so he should be refreshed and ready to carry the load until Kobe gets back. Kobe and Nash both have a lot to prove and I know neither of them wants to end their careers on a less than stellar note. Sometimes the best thing that can happen to a team is to be counted out, and that’s why I believe they’ll play well.

I just wanted to point out some things I felt the experts were failing to mention while they were being so disrespectful. I know it’s a year of low expectations but I refuse to believe that the Lakers have become a bottom feeder in the West. The Lakers have quietly assembled a solid team and a much better fit for what D’Antoni wants to do. They also got a lot younger and if these young guys play with some confidence and consistency, who knows how many games we can win. I know Kobe is a huge question mark, but knowing Kobe, he won’t come back until he’s playing at a fairly high level. So get ready Laker fans and don’t listen to the hate! The new season is here and it can’t be as bad as last year. Get your popcorn ready. It’s going to be an interesting show.

-EJ

- edited 10/22/13 to reflect "NBA on ABC" instead of NBC (although all the real heads know that NBA on NBC had the best coverage before they lost the contract) - CJ